Staying Up Late
by Expression812
Summary: "You mean to tell me, that for two straight days, you've drank Red Bulls and only had four hours of sleep?" Harvey/Mike


Staying Up Late

**Hey. This is just a little plot bunny that attacked me while trying to finish up part 4 of ****Please Don't Leave Me****, I hope you enjoy it.**

"You have got to be kidding me!" said Harvey, anger seeping into his voice. "How could you not? After all the time I gave you! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Mike looked down as he stood in front of Harvey's desk, listening to his boss rant. "I'm sorry."

"You should be! Two days? You haven't eaten in two days? How?" Harvey asked, exasperated.

Mike looked away and spoke into his hand, making his answer muffled and clipped.

"What grade are we in again, Mike? Junior high?"

"Red Bulls, and we're in high school, Harvey, Freshman. I do it all the time, It's a typical Monday and Tuesday for me."

Harvey cringed, but posed another question, "and how much sleep have you gotten?"

Mike once again looked away, but answered clearly. "Four hours total."

Harvey stared at his associate in disbelief and rounded his desk to flop in his chair. Harvey pinched the bridge of his nose and screwed his eyes shut. "You mean to tell me, that for two straight days, you've drank Red Bulls and only had four hours of sleep?"

Mike nodded.

"How many red bulls have you had?"

"Just today?" asked Mike, scared of where this was going.

"In total." Clarified Harvey.

Mike cleared his throat and looked at Harvey in the eyes, "72."

Harvey clenched his fist but nodded. "Grab your things and met me back here, you have 60 seconds."

Mike was shocked but left the room anyway, _this is it,_ he thought,_ I'm being fired for my energy drink choices, he must be an Amp man or something._ Mike grabbed his bag and coat and stood outside Harvey's office, putting both on.

Harvey exited the office at lightning speed and headed straight for the elevators, making Mike jog to catch up. The short ride down the elevator was silent and tense and Harvey left the elevator at warp speed once the doors opened. Harvey walked right to the car and opened the door, Ray still in the driver's seat. "In." he said briskly. Mike shot him a confused look but ducked into the car anyway. Harvey walked around the other side. Once in the vehicle, Harvey addressed Ray, "Home, please."

Mike once again looked at Harvey in confusion, "Did you forget something this morning?"

Harvey looked at Mike skeptically, "No."

"Then why are we going to your condo?"

Harvey looked at Mike, a mix of anger and worry written all over his face. "The fact that you can't put it together says it all. Do you know what going that long without sleep and without eating properly does to your body? You're basically starving yourself. When your body has none of the carbs or lipids it needs to function, it starts dissolving the fat pockets it's built up in case of emergency, that's why you're so skinny. When you go that long without sleep, your minds capacity for thought is that of a 12 month old. I don't have the time to do this on a daily basis, so listen closely, the next time you pull a stunt like this, I'm docking your pay for as long as you went without food or sleep, understand?"

Mike nodded.

"We're going to my condo because you are going to sleep one hour for every Red Bull you drank."

Mike was shocked, "That's 3 days!"

Harvey nodded, "We have the rest of the week off."

"Why don't you just send me home, so I can sleep there?"

"Because I know you, you probably have case files stashed somewhere and instead of sleeping, end up working again."

Mike looked away, "This is because it reflects poorly on you, isn't it?"

Harvey sighed and looked Mike square in the eyes, "No, this is because your wellbeing is at stake, when that is that case, I step in, got it?"

Mike was still slightly confused, "So it's like the Trevor thing?"

Harvey smirked, "Yeah, it's kind of like the Trevor thing."

When they arrived at Harvey's apartment, Harvey dismissed Ray for the rest of the day and then led Mike in his building and to the elevators, where Mike had a thought.

"Harvey, I don't have anything to sleep in besides my suit."

Harvey eyed Mike's suit, one of the cheap ones today, and looked back at the lighted numbers above the elevator doors. "I'll lend you something."

Sensing that the conversation was over, Mike stood silently for the rest of the ride and exited right behind Harvey when they reached his floor. Harvey quickly unlocked his door and ushered Mike inside, locking it behind them both. Harvey threw his keys on the small table by the door as well as his wallet and various other pocket contents. Once finished, he gently took a hold of Mike's bicep and steered him the couch and sat him down, "Stay," Harvey commanded and then disappeared into what Mike assumed was Harvey's bedroom.

Mike rolled his eyes and muttered, "Sit, Boo Boo, sit."

Harvey returned with a pair of black and red plaid pajama pants and a shirt with Harvard stretched across the chest written in red with black lining. Mike smirked as Harvey threw them at him.

"What?" Harvey demanded.

"You even match your sleep wear," Mike chuckled as he stood from the couch.

Harvey rolled his eyes and pointed out the bathroom as the one the left of the one Harvey just came from and instructed Mike to, "Get ready for bed."

Mike entered the bathroom and quickly changed, noting how comfortable Harvey's clothes were. He then stood in front of the sink, normally he would brush his teeth, but as his tooth brush is at his apartment and he sure as hell was _not_ using Harvey's, Mike did the best he could, squeezing some tooth paste on his finger and using it as an impromptu tooth brush. That done, he exited the bathroom to find Harvey waiting on the other side of the hall, leaned against the wall, also in a pair of pajama bottoms and wearing a Yankees shirt. Mike raised an eye brow in question.

"Making sure you weren't gunna use my hair brush." Harvey replied in all seriousness.

"Who brushes their hair _before_ bed?" asked Mike.

"I do," stated Harvey and then lead the way into his bedroom.

"Where am I sleeping?" asked Mike as Harvey climbed into his bed.

"Here," Replied Harvey, pointing to the other side of his king size bed.

Mike looked Harvey for a second, searching for any hint of a joke and finding none, apparently he was serious. Mike cleared his throat. "You know, I'm sure the couch is very comfortable."

Harvey nodded, "It is, but we can't both fit on the couch."

"That's okay," replied Mike, looking away. "You don't have to babysit me."

Harvey smiled and shook his head, "You really are delusional if you think I'm letting you out of my sight for one second, don't think I didn't see you put those files in your bag. You have a problem, Mike, an addiction, it's either this or rehab."

Mike paused, looking to Harvey as if he was wondering if rehab was really that bad. "Get in the bed, Mike."

Swallowing, Mike climbed into the bed and lay on top of the covers. Harvey looked at him with amusement in his eyes. "You don't sleep under the covers?" Harvey questioned.

"Normally I have a fan, it has to be cold for me to sleep."

Harvey nodded and got out of bed and went to the thermostat and tuned the air up, then went back to the bed, sitting up and looking at Mike. "Better?"

Mike nodded mutely.

Harvey sighed. "Get under the covers and lay down," Harvey ordered. "It's you've forgotten how to relax or something." Commented Harvey, once Mike's head was on the pillow and he was covered with Harvey's expensive duvet.

Mike shrugged, "It's been a while."

Harvey turned his head to look at his associate. "Why haven't you been sleeping?"

Mike stared at the ceiling. "Can't."

"Why?" pushed Harvey.

"Work-" Harvey interrupted him.

"How about you give me the truth," Harvey insisted.

Mike sighed and looked back at Harvey. "Because sleep makes me lonely."

Harvey looked at him, "How so?"

Mike took a breath. "Before, when I was a kid, if I had a nightmare my parents or later my Grammy would rush in to make sure I was okay, hold me until I was asleep again, if I wasn't sleeping enough, even during my stint at college, someone, Trevor, Jenny, Grammy, someone, said something, cared enough to ask. No one does that anymore."

Harvey creased his brow, "Are you having nightmares?"

"Sometimes," Mike answered. "I think it's just the fact that if something did happen while I was asleep, no one would care, no one would be there to stop it. I am completely alone and when you're sleeping, you're vulnerable. I have to watch my own back, Harvey. I can't close my eyes for a second."

Harvey looked at his associate, who was looking anywhere but his boss before answering. "Well, you can now, I'll watch your back, okay? I'll hold you if you have a nightmare, I'll question your well being from now on."

"No." replied Mike.

"Why not?"

"Because I want someone who does it because they want to, because they care about me, not about how useful I am when I'm fully rested." Gasped Mike as his exhaustion caught up with him.

"Shhh," cooed Harvey, pulling Mike's small frame against him and wrapping an arm around Mike's chest to help calm him. "I want to, I really do. I care about you too. I care that you aren't sleeping or eating or functioning, I worry that you aren't taking good care of yourself, which you aren't, and I care that you think you have to impress me so much that you don't have time to eat or sleep."

Mike looked over his shoulder at his boss. "You knew?"

Harvey nodded. "I thought it was cute and first, but it got out of hand."

Mike stared straight ahead for a moment. "I really don't have what it takes, do I?

Harvey shook his head and gently ran his hand through Mike hair. "You do, you just have to let it out."

Mike yawned and Harvey chuckled, "Go to sleep, we can talk more later."

Mike snuggled against Harvey and blissfully fell into 12 hours of dream free sleep.


End file.
